4D Coaster Plans To Be Bought By Six Flags?

The battle for control over roller coaster designer Arrow Dynamics is heating up. Arrow, the company helped design Disneyland's Matterhorn, ended up in bankruptcy due to cost overruns on Magic Mountain's troubled "X."

That's set off a major battle over who will get control of the company and its designs.

Six Flags has argued it will buy the 4D model and plans for $10,000 and drop a lawsuit worth up to $5.8 million, if they are allowed to be sole owner of the 4D models, currently being used on 'X' at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

In a move which will surely anger many coaster enthusiasts, Six Flags would then have a clear monopoly of the 4D plans and designs which caused Arrow to go into liquidation.

However, Six Flags is not the only people interested in buying Arrow Dynamics. Hong Kong businessman James T. King, who claims a 56 percent ownership interest worth $1.8 million in the Clearfield-based manufacturer, has joined with Florida developer Conrad Wagner in a $384,000 bid for Arrow Dynamics.

To further confuse the situation, Premier, the ride manufacturer, had also shown interest in buying Arrow, but due to the Six Flags $5.8 million lawsuit against the company was told by its shareholders, that the company would be unable to cover the financial debts that would have to be taken on, if a purchase was sucessful for Arrow Dynamics.

It wouldn't anger me if Six Flags bought the rights to it. Disney and Universal have rides which are one-of-a-kind, so why can't the Coaster King have one too? It's not like they wouldn't have one up in every one of their parks by the end of the decade. It'd be much scarier if someone smaller like Busch or Paramount had a stranglehold on those plans. SFMM got totally screwed by Arrow (and it seems they still are) and should get something from a deal that lasted nine months longer than it should have and still doesn't work properly.

Could somebody PLEASE explain what went on here with Arrow and SFMM???!!!

I was really shocked to read this. I thought basically X was a big success, if not short etc.

It really saddens me (though I don't have much info) because Arrow went out on this limd with a radical and exciting new design and now they possibly going BANCKRUPT because of it??

That seems totally unfair. The coaster was alwasy described as a PROTOTYPE so shoudn't less than 100% functionality be expected, teething problems etc etc???

Please tell me the full story, at the moment I just don't get it and its terrible to think Arrow will be no more, and that the result of pushing the envelope with something different and new like X resulted in bankruptcy to a coaster company that has been around this long!!

"Prototype" is a little misleading. A theme park expects a new ride design to be fully functional, and safe, and when they open it to the public.

X missed its opening date by nearly a year. And it has never been able to operate at full capacity (three trains). Most times, when it does operate, it runs just one. Six Flags did an impressive job getting X to go at two trains and under an hour wait on its opening weekend, sparing the park another PR disaster. But word has quickly spread around the Internet about X's problems, and now even the local papers have noticed.

Actually, this whole problem might benefit Six Flags since I don't think many parks will be jumping on the 4-D bandwagon until the whole buyout is finished. Too bad for SF for not being able to clone a few of these this year or next for their needier parks.

If you haven't taken a look at this thread, Philip Curds has some more information about the Arrow/Six Flags situation, and how it is affecting other roller coaster companies.

From Anonymous
Posted February 23, 2003 at 6:38 PM

I really don't get why these people are going bankrupt over such a big success!WHy the heck would there be a problem with the most anticipated coaster to enter the six flags industry.

From Anonymous
Posted February 23, 2003 at 6:41 PM

Really Arrow Dynamics should think about the whole situation before going to do something stupid like that again. why would they not think about the consequences a big fancy expensive roller coaster could bring to their company.

Truly i think anybody who reads this would agree with me that SIx flags needs to do something about the whole situation instead of trying to take advantage of the lawsuit thing that they had happenning.

sure i think its great that they decided to take control of something as big as this but don't you think they've taken it a little too far!

After submitting zipper/rollercoaster plans to Arrow over and over throughout the years, bankruptcy does not surprise me.

Obviously, coaster freaks like myself think alike.

Some of my plans have been incorporated into major thrill rides (I have several others which have won me notoriety, but that is all). It takes money and major planning, prototypes and more money to produce the thrills we *want* to see. But there is still a standard to be kept, no matter how hard we kick and scream.

Theme Parks and Design Firms [claim] they do not accept design plans (or ideas) for attractions outside of their corporate resources. But, I know that is bull; I have gotten some recognition and, had my house not burnt to the ground two years ago, I would have all the original data from age fourteen. All Arrow did was bend steel with their bare hands. All I did was add insult to injury.

You wanna see a THRILL ride? I've already gone beyond the fourth dimension, beyond the Outer Limits, beyond Tower of Whatever. I design with the future in mind. Not just some crappy "yeah, let's put loops and corkscrews all over this thing" mentality like Arrow does (or did).

No, I'm not claiming fame to the fourth dimension. However, I started riding rollercoasters in an era when they were burning out ... they almost had it. I sent over one hundred plans to many design firms without even a letter back and still I saw my rides come to life. Many of us "enthusiasts" dream of the same thrills. I, on the other hand, mistakenly listened to my Dad, went to a credited university, cast off my desires to seek a fulfilling career in thrill ride design engineering and got a *real* job with his firm ... which ended up going bankrupt last year : /

KANNi8L KL0wN-I may taste funny, but I know a good ride when I'm on one.

This move will still not stop another coaster designer from tweeking the 4D design and improving upon it. I think Six Flags was pretty silly to settle this way, because they basically bought plans to a coaster that they don't like. Doesn't make much sense to me, but what at Six Flags makes any sense anyhow?

The 4D coaster will live on, and some designer will build a better version of it(B&M), and they will become as popular as floorless and flying coasters are now.

It will be interesting to see if Six Flags, who have enough trouble with the parks and rides they have, will be able to do anything with this. I will tell you one thing, if they are going to build it, it will never reach its full potential like it could with companies like Intamin or S&S. I think we will all lose out on this one folks. Speaking of bankruptcy, I predict six flags to file in the not so distant future.

I highly doubt that a company that is about to aquire Tussaud's parks in Britain is going to file for bankrupcy any time soon. They're really only buying the plans because they think their top notch maintainance staff(NOT) can fix the problems with X, not so they can build more 4D coasters. Six Flags has been fighting since X was built for the plans, because they want to fix the problems, and had zero confidence in Arrow's engineers. As far as I'm concerned this is just a crum that was thrown to Six Flags by the courts for their frivilous suit against Arrow.

No, you're not making sense. As the 12-step people say, admitting the problem is half of the solution, so you're off to a good start. Now lets try to think about what we're saying and try it again. Oh yeah, and maybe riding all those arrow coasters got to your head and that's why you're not making sense. Try riding a Beemer and maybe the smoothness will prevent all that brain damage. Coming from one who works seasonally at a theme park, Beemers are far superior because of their remarkably high OHRC, if for no other reason. (There are other reasons, but that's another topic)Well, anyway, I should go before I start to ramble~Andrew~